Shidarezakura
by vampirebabexo
Summary: This is a Harry Potter fan fiction about a Japanese cherry tree named Alba that holds the stories of Lily’s life in its weeping branches and soft pink blossoms. This is my first attempt at posting a story online, so please be kind.
1. Chapter 1

**Shidarezakura - Chapter 1**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's beautiful characters but I do enjoy borrowing them every once in a while for my own (and possibly your?) amusement.

I hope that you will enjoy!

* * *

Lily glided across the unkempt grass and wrapped her jacket tighter around her body before placing her hands lightly on the trunk of a tree. A branch swayed softly across her face in such a deliberate manner that for one brief second an innocent onlooker might have thought that the caress had been purposeful. Of course this thought would have been cast aside moments later never to be spoken of again because who in their right mind would believe of such a tree? Perhaps under interrogation an innocent onlooker would claim of fleeting insanity due to the mystical fog or intoxicating smells of this particularly early morning. Lily, however, knew otherwise.

The tree stood tall with an elegant beauty, her many blossoms heavy with dew. Her name was Alba and although you might not believe it yet, Lily would have insisted that the tree had chosen this name herself. In a sudden act that might have surprised an innocent onlooker, Lily leaned towards Alba's trunk and whispered "Goodbye Alba. I truly hope that my story will be the first of many to be written across your weeping branches." Gently she pressed her lips to the bark and then unexpectedly disappeared into thin air. The only trace of her left behind was a single tear that fell to the ground mere seconds before Lily was gone. At this point our innocent onlooker might have fainted on the cold, hard floor at the sheer impossibility of the bizarre situation. Luckily the innocent onlooker is a hypothetical person so no characters were harmed this early on in the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shidarezakura - Chapter 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's beautiful characters but I do enjoy borrowing them every once in a while for my own (and possibly your?) amusement.

I hope that you will enjoy!

* * *

When Lily was a child, she had a best friend named Calista. Actually in Lily and Calista's case the term "best friend" was an understatement. They had been inseparable since the moment that they had met at the young age of 2 when the Evans had moved into the house next door to Calista's family. One of Mr. Evans' favorite stories to tell was about this time.

Mrs. Evans had in an attempt to make friends with their new neighbors had invited Mr. and Mrs. Raleigh over and took them to the kitchen for some tea. The kitchen really was the only room so far that had enough furniture to do any sort of entertaining since most of their belongings had not yet arrived at the new house.

Mr. Evans had wanted to get away from the chaos for a while so he offered to take Lily, Petunia, and the Raleigh's daughter, Calista into the living room to play. Coincidentally Calista was almost exactly the same age as Lily, with only a three days difference between their birthdays. Petunia, who was the eldest of the children and obviously too mature to play with the babies, opted to stay in the kitchen with her toys. The two toddlers, on the other hand, were swept up and away to the other room where they could explore.

The only piece of furniture in the living room was a worn leather chair and although it really wasn't that large, it could easily fit both of the young girls on it comfortably. Lily and Calista sat on it together, facing each other curiously. Two year old Lily would never have been found without her oversized purple pacifier stuck in her mouth and was unsurprisingly sucking on it happily. Calista on the other hand did not look very pleased with the situation.

She raised her little hand cautiously towards Lily and plucked the pacifier right out of Lily's mouth and then quickly into her own. Lily stared in shock at the nerve of this tiny human across from her before stealing the pacifier right back for herself. Mr. Evan's had watched this exchange and waited for the tantrum that the girls were likely to throw, but none of the waterworks came. In fact both girls giggled happily and their little game of theft began all over again.

From that day on Lily and Calista shared everything from colds to birthday parties. They had found a relationship that Lily and Petunia would never have. Poor Petunia would eventually turn bitter about being excluded and jealous of the friendship. This caused a new distance to form between the sisters and ruined any chance that Lily and Petunia ever had of getting along.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shidarezakura – Chapter 3**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's beautiful characters but I do enjoy borrowing them every once in a while for my own (and possibly your?) amusement.

I hope that you will enjoy!

* * *

The Evan's and the Raleigh's lived across the street from a golf course. Living in the neighborhood turned out to be quite risky as the members of the golf club had a tendency to misjudge the distance of the 9th hole and send golf balls flying into the houses' front yards. While the adults complained about the possibility of a ball hitting a car or going through a window, Lily and Calista were quite thrilled with the dangerous atmosphere and the possibilities of adventure. As soon as they were old enough to cross the street alone, they began collecting the balls that they could find and returning them to the sheepish golfers. Usually they would be rewarded with some shiny spare coins or sweets wrapped in brightly coloured paper that had been foraged from the depths of the golfer's crisp white trousers.

Frederick Aldridge was an elderly man in charge of landscaping for the golf course. He was known for his prickly personality and had at many times chased neighborhood children away from the green, expansive lawn on his little rusty lawnmower yelling empty threats after them – a sight that would send any spectator into hysterics. It was also well known that he had a secret soft spot for Lily and Calista. At first his attempts to keep them out of the land were half hearted and after a while he gave up altogether and would just turn a blind eye on the two young trespassers as they climbed over the fence, their faces alight with goodwill.

Eventually he began to allow the girls to follow him around on his daily chores on slow weekday afternoons, when golfers were scarce. Much to their enjoyment he would give them little jobs such as fetching tools for him, or watering the little plants that the sprinklers couldn't reach. They would do these jobs carefully and to the best of their ability until Mr. Frederick would say that the work was finished and if they wanted they could play in the gardens for a bit.


End file.
